The actress Gena Rowlands, celebrated as one of the greatest actresses of all time in her field and a guiding light in independent cinema, starred in groundbreaking films directed by her husband John Cassavetes and later captivated audiences in her son’s poignant film The Notebook. She was 94 years old.

Representatives for her son, director Nick Cassavetes, confirmed Rowlands' death on Wednesday. He revealed earlier this year that his mother had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Tmz reported that Rowlands passed away on Wednesday at her home in Indian Wells, California.

The couple John Cassavetes and Rowlands worked outside the studio system, producing unforgettable portrayals of working-class individuals and youth in films like A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria, and Faces.

10 films with John Cassavetes

Rowlands appeared in 10 films over four decades with Cassavetes, including Minnie and Moskowitz in 1971, Opening Night in 1977, and Love Streams in 1984.

She received two Oscar nominations for two of them: A Woman Under the Influence in 1974, where she played a wife and mother collapsing under the weight of domestic harmony, and Gloria in 1980, about a woman who helps a small boy escape from the mafia.

She told the Associated Press in 2015, “He had a special interest in women and their problems in society, how they were treated, and how they solve and overcome what they need, so all his films have some interesting women, and you don’t need a lot of them.”

She received an honorary Oscar

In addition to her Oscar nominations, Rowlands received three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. She received the honorary Oscar in 2015 in recognition of her work and legacy in Hollywood.

She said onstage, “You know what’s wonderful about being an actress? You don’t live just one life, you live many lives.”

Rowlands connected with a new generation of youth in her son’s successful film The Notebook, where she played a woman whose memory has been ravaged, recalling a romance from decades past. Canadian actress Rachel McAdams played her character's younger self. (Rowlands also appeared in Nick Cassavetes' 1996 film Unhook the Stars.)

In her later years, Rowlands made several appearances in films and television, including the film The Skeleton Key and the series Monk.

She and Cassavetes met at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts when they began their careers. They married four months later.

In 1960, Cassavetes used his earnings from the television series Johnny Stacatto to finance his first film, Shadows. The film was shot partially improvisationally using natural light in locations in New York on a budget of $40,000, and it was praised by critics for its stark realism.

She worked in theater and television

Rowlands became a veteran actress through live television drama and tours in The Seven Year Itch and Time for Ginger, as well as Off-Broadway performances.

Her big break came when Josh Logan cast her alongside Edward G. Robinson in Paddy Chayefsky’s play Mid of the Night. Her role as a young woman who falls in love with her older boss earned her reviews praising her as a new star.

MGM offered her a contract for two films a year. Her first film, a comedy directed by and starring José Ferrer, The High Cost of Loving, led to comparisons of Rowlands to one of the greatest stars of the 1930s, Carol Lombard.

But she requested a dismissal from her contract because she was expecting a child.

She often stepped away from the screen for long periods during her career to attend to family matters. In addition to Nick, she and Cassavetes had two daughters, Alexandra and Zoe, who also pursued acting careers.